Michner was Right

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"If you dislike the food, ignore the custom, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home." James Michner

That quote was posted in the Gibralter Pub, which is just around the corner from my B&B in San Telmo. I sought it out after reading that it served curries and, for a country built up by Italians and Spaniards, Argentina's food, though delicious, is not what I would call spicy. There are no pepper grinders or shakers on restaurant tables, for example.

At any rate, a pint of Stone IPA beer and a huge serving of Nasi Goreng (an Indonesian rice dish) later, I was chatting with Sandra, a young woman originally from Columbia who has lived in BsAs for the past 11 years. She was great, a self-described Jewish mother wanna-be (she is, in fact, Jewish), with grandparents who survived Nazi Germany. Her friend, Lucy, writes a blog that is her take on BsAs as a 28 year old alter ego of Carrie from "Sex in the City." Fun people whom I left at the very early (locally speaking) hour of midnight to head to bed. I had been told about a gay dance club that is "early" on Sundays, but since early means 10 pm to 2 am, I decided to pass, and simply found my way home.

Earlier in the evening, I had yet another moment I will never forget. As I walked around the neighborhood before dinner, I returned to the site of the outdoor flea market Gustavo and I had visited earlier in the day. It was darks, and the booths were being dismantled, the tourist mostly long gone. But I heard music on the far side and saw an outdoor milonga, a dance party, underway. The first dances looked like folk dances of the Gauchos, based only on my having seen some kids doing the same steps last week. Couples faced each other in lines and circled each other with hands in the air or behind their backs. The next set of dances were done with handkerchiefs, the man and the woman each using them to seduce the other as they circled. Finally, the tango, danced by people of all ages. Amazing to see, woman dancing with their eyes closed, feeling the music and using the other senses to respond to their partners' lead. The vibe was just like the feeling at Sundance Saloon, where I go country western dancing each week: friendly, familiar, local. Wonderful.

AND I had my first mate experience (that's mah-tay, but I can't figure out how to get the punctuation above the e.) I had seen people drinking the herbal tea-like drink all over the city (and the north as well, when I traveled to the falls). It's brewed in a very distinctive round cup and sipped through a silver straw. You pour more water in as you drink it, constantly refilling. I had even been offered sips in a store and at one of the tango classes, which I accepted. But Gustavo made me my first full-blown cup of my own. Strong and delicious!

Thunder started early this morning and it has been raining, all day. It was a good day to begin winding down for the return home. As usual, I will come home from this vacation exhausted, but very happy to have met some really wonderful people.

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Photos

An American in Buenos Aires
Kevin, late of New Orleans, now living in BsAs

Selling Tissues for Money
A girl tries to sell travel packets of tissues for money in the Plaza de Mayo, the focal point of political life in Buenos Aires, in front of the Casa Rosada

San Telmo
Dusk in the San Telmo neighborhood